Integrated regional water management plans: nitrate, arsenic, perchlorate, or hexavalent chromium contamination.

Existing law, the Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006, an initiative bond act approved by the voters as Proposition 84 at the November 7, 2006, statewide general election, authorized the issuance of bonds in the amount of $5,388,000,000 for the purposes of financing a safe drinking water, water quality and supply, flood control, and resource protection program. Existing law, with regard to those bond funds, makes available to the Department of Water Resources, $1,000,000,000 for grants for projects that assist local public agencies to meet the long term water needs of the state including the delivery of safe drinking water and the protection of water quality and the environment. The act requires that eligible projects implement integrated regional water management plans that meet specified criteria and requires the department to give preference to certain proposals. Existing law, the Integrated Regional Water Management Planning Act, authorizes a regional water management group, as defined, to prepare and adopt an integrated regional water management plan. The act requires the Department of Water Resources to develop and adopt guidelines for the preparation of integrated regional water management plans used to apply for the above-described Proposition 84 funds. This bill would make the guidelines applicable to all funds that are or may become available for integrated regional water management plan implementation. If an area within the boundaries of an integrated regional water management plan has nitrate, arsenic, perchlorate, or hexavalent chromium contamination, the bill would require that the plan include a description of (1) the location and extent of that contamination in the region, (2) the impacts caused by the contamination to communities within the region, (3) existing efforts being undertaken in the region to address the impacts, and (4) any additional efforts needed to address the impacts. If a grant application includes areas that have nitrate, arsenic, perchlorate, or hexavalent chromium contamination, the bill would require the regional water management group include in the grant application information regarding how a project or projects in the application helps to address the contamination or an explanation why the application does not include such a project or projects. For grant applications that include areas that have nitrate, arsenic, perchlorate, or hexavalent chromium contamination, the bill would require the department to consider whether the regional water management group has included projects that help address the impacts caused by the contamination, including projects that provide safe drinking water to small disadvantaged communities.